Continuing our series of lessons from Internet retailers at the forefront on online merchandising, I talked with Mary Lou Kelley, Vice President of Marketing at Ashford.com, about Ashford's experiences on the Net. Our conversation is summarized in this "Lessons From The Front."
ASHFORD.COM:
Leading US based Internet retailer of luxury and premium products. 13 product categories with over 14,000 products spanning 350 brands. Target market: worldwide luxury goods market for accessories and corporate gifts ($133bn). Target customer: 4.9m US households with a net worth of more than $1m Average order size approximately $500. Ashford.com owns and maintains its own inventory positions on merchandise. Key technologies: Net Perceptions for collaborative filtering.
Segmenting the market
Mary Lou Kelly subscribes to a broad definition of brand marketing: "whenever the company targets or touches a customer in any form, that's building our brand." Her focus is on driving traffic, converting browsers to customers and providing them with an experience that is so great that they build loyalty for the long term. Kelly is a believer in customer segmentation as a way to achieve this goal. She works on the basis that once you understand your target consumer, it is easier to satisfy their needs. To segment the market, Kelly suggests eRetailers look at the following criteria: Who are your highest potential customers? What distinguishes them? What do they care about? How is your business distinct? How can you exceed customer expectations within a sustainable business model?
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